Device to be substituted for thresholds



(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

A. A. CHASE & D. H. HESS ELTON. DEVICE T0 BE SUBSTITUTED FOR THRESHOLDS.

No. 325,237. PatentedSept. 1, 1885.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2. HESSELTON.

(No Model.)

A. A. CHASE & D. H.

DEVICE TO BE sUBsTITUTED FOR THRESHOLDS. No. 325,237. Patented Sept. 1, .1885.

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STATES ALFRED A. CHASE AND DANIEL H. HESSELTON, OF HOLDEJT, ASSIGNOBS OF ONE-THIRD TO GEORGE \V. FISKE, OF \VORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

DEVICE TO BE SUBSTITUTED FOR THRESHOLDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 325.237, dated September 1, .1885.

Application filed June 1, 1835.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALFRED A. CHASE and DANIEL H. HESSELTON, both of Holden, in the county of \Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for the Substitution of Ordinary Door-Thresholds; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, ret

1o erence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 represents a transverse or cross sectionthrough an ordinary door and its jambs 1 with our improved device applied to said door, which is shown closed by full lines and open by dotted lines to more fully illustrate the operation of our aforesaid device, hereinafter described. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a side view of one of the operating parts of our device, hereinafter more fully described. Fig. 4 represents an edge view of the lower part of the door, showing our threshold substitute applied thereto; and Figs. 5 and 6 represent vertical sections through the bottom of the door at each side, taken at the point indicated by line a, Fig. at, showing the two operating parts of our improved device and the operation of the same, as will be hereinafter more fully explained, the last four fig ures being shown one-half full size.

The purpose of our inventionis to supply a substitute for ordinary thresholds, and thus dispense with them altogether, and comprising, in combination with the bottom of a door, the construction and arrangement of mechanism hereinafter described, whereby a strip may be raised and lowered by the operation of open- 0 ing and closing said. door, the operation of closing the door causing the strip to be lowered or carried down, so as to completely close the opening at the bottom when said door is shut, and raised out of the way in opening the door 5 immediately upon its outer edge leaving the rabbet in the frame, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

To enable those skilled in the art to which our invention appertains to make and use the same, we will proceed to describe it more in detail.

(No mode In the drawings, A represents an ordinary door hung in the usual jambs, B B, and provided at the bottom with our improved device to take the place of an ordinary threshold.

Said device consists of the bottom strip, C, which is fitted in a longitudinal groove, 1), formed in the bottom of the door and extending nearly or quite the whole width of said door, and of the mortise-latches D D, connected therewith for raising and lowering said strip, as hereinafter described, one of said latches being used upon C3011 side of the door,

as shown in Fig. 2.

\Vith the exception of the parts connecting said latches with the strip C they are made similar to an ordinary mortise door-latch, being provided with the bolt 0, which is forced forward by the spiral spring d and sprung back by coming in contact with the door-striker c, andwith the face-platef, for fastening the latch in the door, also being inclosed in a casing, made in halves and fastened together by means of a central screw, h.

Connection is made between the spring bolt c and strip C by means of the hinged arm i, linkpiecej, and bearing-piece 7:, which is provided with a face-plate, k, for fastening the same to the under side of said strip C. The arm i is hinged at '17 to casing g, and is slotted at each end to fit over the notched part c of the bolt 0 and the upper end of the link-piece j, being held in position on said link-piece by a pin, j, passed through said arm and link piece. The lower end of said link is in turn hinged at It to the part 7.1.

The aforesaid parts may be adjusted more or less as required to vary the distance between arms z and strip 0 in case of the settlement of the floor under the door, or for any other reason, by means of the row of holes j, formed in the link-piece j,- or, if preferred, an upward springing motion may be imparted to the strip by the use of a spiral spring, j, as shown in Fig. 6, which, as will be obviously seen, would be of especial advantage in case that anything should be under where the door comes when. closed, thereby preventing any injury to the parts operating said strip. The

head 0 of the bolt 0 in the outer edge of the door is made adjustable, as shown by dotted lines 0, and provided with a friction-roll, c

fitted to turn on the pin 0 between the ears or flanges 0 0 formed on the end of said bolthead '0, thus producing but little friction when the head comes in contact with the striker 6. (Shown in Fig. 2.)

The bolt used upon the inner edge, A, of

the door is not provided with a head, cflas in ployment of the usual thresholds, especiallyv should any settlement of the floor or sagging of the door occur.

By the use of our device such inequality between the level of the bottom of the door and floor under the same may be readily obviated by the adjustment hereinbefore described, thereby maintaining a close, tight joint at all times under said doors at but little trouble or expense to the owner or user of said doors.

When the door is open or ajar, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 1, our device is in its normal position, with the strip raised,.as shown in Fig. 5, and the bolts 0 projecting beyond the face-plates f, as shown by full lines, Figs. 3 and 5, and dotted lines, Figs. 1 and 6, said strip being in practice raised a sufficient distance to clear rugs, mats, or other floor-coverings that it would be likely to strike in opening the same.

In closing the door the ends of the bolts 0 are brought in contact with their respective strikers, thus forcing said bolts in, and consequently lowering the strip 0, as hereinbefore described, and shown by full and dotted lines in Figs. 2, 4, and 6 of the drawings.

In addition to the advantage of forming a tight joint under the bottom of a door, our invention embodies several advantages derived fromdispensing with the usual thresholds. It removes an objectionable obstruction between one room and another in walking to and from the same, and also to carpeting said rooms, especially where it is desired to carpet several rooms alike, as well as other obj ectionable features unnecessary to mention.

We are aware that it is not new to employ weather-strips in the bottoms of doors which are elevated and depressed in opening and closing said doors by means of mechanism connected therewith, several patents for different mechanisms having been already granted for the above purpose; but although said mechanisms produce similar results to our device, the several parts composing the same are not only of different construction and ar-- rangement, but also operate unlike the parts constituting our said'device, as will be readily seen by reference to the two following patents: B. F. Averill, No. 79,625, patented July 7, 1868, and M. L. Bramhall, No. 284,602, patented September 11, 1883, both for weatherstrips which bear more closely upon our device than any others of which we have knowledge. We therefore, in view of the foregoing, limit our invention to the mechanism hereinbefore described, and shown in the drawings.

Having described our aforesaid improved device, what we claim therein as new and of our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the strip 0, fitted to work up and down in a longitudinal slot or groove formed in the bottom edge-of a door, with the means for raising and lowering said strip by the operation of opening and closing said door, consisting of the bolts 0, spiral springs d, casing g, hinged arms 2', link-pieces j, and bearing parts In, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination of the bolts '0, spiral springs 01, and casings g with the hinged arms z, link-pieces j, bearing parts 76, and fiat strip 0, substantially as shown and described.

ALFRED A. CHASE. DANIEL H. HESSELTON. WVitnesses:

ALBERT A. BARKER, lVALrER B. NoURsE. 

